Silver Chariot

A silver humanoid Stand, about Jodio's size, appeared at his side. It was a little knight clad in metal armor, armed with a rapier. It scanned their surroundings, standing guard for him. He couldn't tell what its ability was, but something that looked this cool had to be powerful, right?

"Ohhhhh, you rotten heavens!"

Jodio's composure shattered. His face twisted. Damn it, why did it have to be Silver Chariot? It wasn't that he looked down on the Stand. The thing just had no flashy powers! Right now, he needed an ability-based Stand like Soft Machine, High Priestess, or Act 1, not one of those early Stands that fought with raw stats!

"Silver Chariot! Get me out of here!" Despairing, Jodio gritted his teeth and gave the order. He mustered every bit of strength he had to grab Silver Chariot and have him carry him away. Whatever else happened, he had to get beyond the reach of that divine power first!

Jodio drove his External Soul Bone to its limit, desperately trying to close the channel of reversed time. He faced it all with the resolve to die trying. Right now, he felt a lot like DIO shouting, "Ah, Dad, a midnight snack!" Or Diavolo fighting to seize the Stand Arrow. Or Father being killed by pure oxygen. Live. I have to live. The final Pincer Attack through time is mine to carry out alone. I can't die. I won't!

Deprived of its power supply, the channel of reversed time collapsed in an instant, shutting everything behind him. Jodio felt as though he'd surfaced in the last second before drowning. But dissatisfaction immediately swept over him. Where was his King Crimson? Why did he have to use Silver Chariot?

"Absurd! Half-formed will of the world, once I become a god, I'll turn you into Diavolo and torment you mercilessly!" Jodio fumed.

Silver Chariot worked so well in Polnareff's hands because Polnareff himself was a master swordsman. Sure, the Stand had Requiem, but he wouldn't be able to activate King Crimson Requiem until level ninety anyway. What skills could Silver Chariot give him from levels one through eighty? Jodio didn't dare imagine.

"Wait!"

Boom!

"Silver Chariot. Silver Chariot... Chariot..."

"Could it be!"

"Could it be!"

"Spiral Staircase?"

Jodio fell silent. He summoned the Stand Arrow again and discovered that his Soul Power had reached level ten, while the arrow remained usable. For a moment, he wanted to cosplay DIO-sama and stride away with cool elegance, never breaking character. But his joy kept swelling, surging higher and higher, until all he wanted to do was imitate Lord Kars!

"Yahahahahahaha!"

Jodio's expression changed in a flash, and he burst into a theatrical, unhinged laugh. Then he abruptly grew serious and headed toward a distant village. His stint as comic relief was over. Here came the invincible Jodio Joestar! Hold on, wasn't that also the name of Part Nine's protagonist? Whatever. It wasn't his real name anyway. He was just borrowing it.

Level-ten Soul Power, a little over six years old, and Silver Chariot as his only means of attack. Any random Soul Grandmaster could probably crush Jodio. But he was fearless now. He had the resolve to see the Pincer Attack through time to the end.

Food-Venerating Village, south of Suotuo City, Balak Kingdom.

Jodio didn't understand why a world with such obvious Eastern influences had names that sounded so Western. Then again, with a name like Jodio Joestar, he could hardly talk. It was a miracle nobody had teased him for having a name like that when most people here had two- or three-character names. Flender was definitely a Western name, though, right?

His clothes had shrunk along with him when time reversed, sparing him from having to do what DIO had done as a child. His goal was clear: head straight to Shrek Academy and pick up some credits!

A long line stretched out before Shrek Academy's gate. Commoners and nobles alike waited for their chance. Jodio swallowed his urge to complain and obediently joined the queue. Honestly, if he'd had a choice, he would never have come here to waste his days. But he had to. The Shrek Seven Devils were here, making this the place best suited to his Pincer Attack through time. Fine. If I have to run laps, I'll run laps. Whatever.

"I've said it already. Anyone over thirteen, or whose Soul Power hasn't reached level twenty-one, won't be admitted. Don't test my patience. Shrek Academy doesn't take ordinary people. We only take monsters."

A middle-aged man with glasses, a thick beard, and curly hair delivered the speech lazily from a reclining chair. Jodio recognized the notorious swindler at once: Mr. Flender. Sure enough, the man had pocketed another ten gold coins. Well, it was for teaching. Call it half merit, half misconduct.

"How can your standards be so harsh?! I've never seen a genius like that come to a dump like this! Listen, my son coming here was already a great honor for you! Do you know who I am? Ask around! When I eat watermelon in the south of the city, I never pay—"

"That's enough."

Jodio stepped forward and impatiently tapped the man's trouser leg. He hated this kind of tired scene. The person you were confronting was a Soul Master, not a lump of clay you could push around. If the school wouldn't take your son, then it wouldn't take him. You'd already called it a dump, so why keep arguing?

"Whose kid are you?" The adult looked down at him in surprise.

"Jodio Joestar. Remember that name. In the decades to come, you'll be incredibly proud that you met me once." Jodio extended a hand.

"How old are you?" Flender seemed to take an interest. He sat up a little and felt Jodio's wrist.

The blond boy carried himself with unmistakable pride, and his dark-red eyes gave him an air of nobility. He looked like a chancellor's son who wouldn't fear a county magistrate, or a tiger cub unfazed by a sheep bleating at him. For an instant, Flender felt less like a Soul Sage and more like a Soul Grandmaster.

"Six years and about three months?" Jodio answered frankly.

"Let me see your Soul Power and Martial Soul," Flender said, sitting up properly.

"Hey! We got here first! How can you let someone cut in line?"

"This is outrageous! I'll ask the City Lord to shut down your school!"

"Shut up, you bastard! You're too damn loud!" Jodio forced himself not to punch the old fool. Instead, he had Silver Chariot trace a neat "DIO" across the man's chest, shredding his clothes. Silver Chariot might depend on swordsmanship, but a little trick like that was easy enough.

"Listen! If you can't do math, you can't do math. Panicking won't help. And if you know the teacher's about to check your homework, pretending to rummage through your bag won't change a thing! If you don't measure up, you don't measure up. Stop making a scene and make way for the people behind you!" Jodio pointed at the old nobleman as he berated him.

"You little..." the nobleman said, shocked and furious.

"He's right. Shrek Academy only takes monsters. If you aren't one, you can leave." Flender rose and leisurely revealed his Martial Soul and Spirit Rings.

"A Soul Sage?!"

"Unbelievable!"

"He's practically superhuman!" The parents in line went pale. More than half of them left on the spot. A few stayed, still hoping to try their luck, but from what Jodio remembered, they were probably doomed too.

"Kid, what's your name? And what's your Martial Soul called?" Flender ignored the parents and asked Jodio warmly.

"Jodio Joestar. My Martial Soul is the Stand Arrow." Jodio summoned the arrow as he explained.

"Your Soul Power is at level ten. Is that your Innate Soul Power? Who awakened your Martial Soul? Where are your parents?" Flender continued.

"Well, you can treat it as Innate Soul Power. You can't expect a six-year-old kid like me to have learned how to cultivate, can you?" Jodio spread his hands.

"As for who awakened my Martial Soul and where my parents are, sir, just think of me as an orphan." Jodio remained matter-of-fact.

"Interesting," Flender said thoughtfully.

"Why have you come to Shrek Academy? What made you choose our school?" Flender pressed.

"Hmph." Jodio couldn't help laughing inwardly. People back in Soul Land 1 were so simple. Either they were hopeless romantics or—wait, damn, weren't they all hopeless romantics? Zhao Wuji and Dugu Bo were comparatively normal. Most of the other main characters had at least a touch of it.

"In my view of the world, I'm a genius." Jodio pointed at himself without a hint of embarrassment.

"And!" Boom!

"A genius deserves the best school and the best teachers. A genius should have the best of everything and grow up with the ambitions of an Emperor. Of all the schools I've seen, only this one suits me."

Jodio planted his hands on his hips and lifted his chin proudly. Flender could tell that pride came from the heart. The boy genuinely believed he was extraordinary. Damn, the little fellow looked rather charming like that, though he did seem a bit roguish.

"Now, I ask you to let me join Shrek Academy." Jodio bent at the waist and bowed in earnest.

"A promising one. Interesting." Flender smiled and nodded.

"Come with me. I'll introduce you to your other two classmates."

""

← To Be Continued

Currently available information:

Level 5 Stand: Silver Chariot

User: Jodio Joestar

Destructive power: C; speed: B; range: D; stamina: D; precision: D; development potential: A

Stand ability: Attacks with the double-edged rapier in his hand. His strikes are so fast that he can slice through the air and thereby "cut" flames.

His armor provides a certain degree of protection and can also be removed. Without it, Silver Chariot becomes much faster, leaving afterimages as he moves. By circling rapidly, he can create several "duplicates," making it impossible to tell which is the real Silver Chariot. His attack speed also increases greatly, though removing the armor substantially reduces his defense.

Silver Chariot can also launch his blade at high speed to strike enemies from a distance. The blade can ricochet off hard objects; with precise calculations, it can rebound from surface to surface and hit an enemy's vital points.